I know Caliber only been around for 2 years
and probably nobody has 40K miles or more on theirs yet
but was wondering how the lifetime drivetrain warranty will play out when you've got 100K on the clock and using a qt of oil every few hundred miles

There are Calibers out there with over 100,000 miles on them (non SRT). There used to be some members here who have put that many miles on their Caliber, but they don't really participate in this forum anymore. There were some issues. Can't remember off the top of my head what they were, but they did report issues.

If you take care of your engine, you won't use a quart of oil every hundred miles. There are regular gasoline engines out there with 400,000+ miles out there and still going strong. You just gotta take care of your stuff! Don't wait 15,000+ miles to change your oil all the time. Use a good filter with good oil. General maintenance on a valid schedule will do wonders for the longevity of your Caliber.

I have had my Caliber since October of 2007 and I have 16,800 miles on it. I'm probably going to be putting around 25,000 miles on it per year. I have had my oil changed every 3,000 miles and have followed the maintenance schedule to the best of my ability. My Caliber is still running great and I expect it to.

As far as the Lifetime Powertrain Warranty I think it is for the life of Chrysler...which could be tomorrow, next month, or even 20 years down the road. Very rarely is the Powertrain the problem but it is nice to know it is covered if something terrible were to happen.

I think these Caliber engines and Jatco transmissions are going to be extremely reliable.

I'm on track for another 40k year in mine (will break 65k on the way home from work tonight). I've been religious about oil changes at every 5k using Mobil 1 5W-20 oil and M-113 filter. I clean my K&N Air Filter every other change (have two to swap back and forth - to cut down on cleanup time). I also rotate my tires every oil change.

Keep the engine bay clean, tires inflated, fluid levels up, and keep yer d@mn foot out of the intake (i.e. minimize Max Load Conditions - especially when the engine is cold) and you shouldn't have any problems. I'm hoping for a 200k (+) life on this car.

I actually opted for the 5spd because I was concerned over the newness (& lack of warranty/reliability numbers for the Jatco CVT). So, I can't tell you what to think about the CVT; except like above, keep it in fresh ATF & Filter and it will last longer than if you don't.

As has already been said... take care of your stuff and it will last. I've had Suburbans and an Isuzu 4WD P/U that all went high mileage with minimal repairs.

I bet that the CVT will last just as long (if not longer) as the 5-spd manual. CVT transmissions are very reliable. From what I've seen and read, there's very little stress on the belt inside the transmission. The belt inside pushes rather than pulls as some think. So unless something like the transmission cooler dies or something like that, it will be rare to see a CVT fail.

I agree with your assessment of the way the belt works on Van Dorn systems anyway... Spent some time working with a PhD researcher in CVTs (Tom Voltz - what a guy!) while I was an Engrg undergrad at UW-Madison many moons ago.

What typically will wear on a CVT is the pulley sheeves (opposing faces of the v-groove pulley) that the "belt" runs on and the mating faces of the wafers of steel that make up the "belt". These sheeves change spacing to allow the "belt" to run up and down the sheeve to change the ratio between the drive and driven members. (Ever seen a snowmobile belt drive?). Anyway, the belt can/will leave scoring marks on these sheeves - especially when loaded heavily during a ratio change. Also, the wafers of the belt can get burnished/scored in the process. How long the pulley sheeves (and wafers) would last is the critical concern I had. I knew I was going to be running up some serious mileage on this car - didn't feel it was wise to take the risk. Especially after I test drove a 2.0L CVT when I was looking to buy...

We started out with the salemsan behind the wheel... The first time the Salesman got on the gas hard I heard that ugly sound I hadn't heard for almost 20years. The sound of the belt scraping its way up the sheeves. I thought, well maybe because the car was cold... (it was January in WI after all). Then it did it again after about a 20mile drive - same occurence: accelerating away from a stop light to highway speeds with me behind the wheel.

Hopefully, no one has encountered this while driving their own Cali's with CVTs... just know that everytime that you hear that sound you are dramatically reducing the life expectancy of the CVT - so Back Off!

Hopefully, no one has encountered this while driving their own Cali's with CVTs... just know that everytime that you hear that sound you are dramatically reducing the life expectancy of the CVT - so Back Off!

I see nothing wrong with doing this...If the CVT can't take this then why would Dodge put one in the Caliber. Besides as I have said before----LIFETIME POWERTRAIN...

I agree with your assessment of the way the belt works on Van Dorn systems anyway... Spent some time working with a PhD researcher in CVTs (Tom Voltz - what a guy!) while I was an Engrg undergrad at UW-Madison many moons ago.

What typically will wear on a CVT is the pulley sheeves (opposing faces of the v-groove pulley) that the "belt" runs on and the mating faces of the wafers of steel that make up the "belt". These sheeves change spacing to allow the "belt" to run up and down the sheeve to change the ratio between the drive and driven members. (Ever seen a snowmobile belt drive?). Anyway, the belt can/will leave scoring marks on these sheeves - especially when loaded heavily during a ratio change. Also, the wafers of the belt can get burnished/scored in the process. How long the pulley sheeves (and wafers) would last is the critical concern I had. I knew I was going to be running up some serious mileage on this car - didn't feel it was wise to take the risk. Especially after I test drove a 2.0L CVT when I was looking to buy...

We started out with the salemsan behind the wheel... The first time the Salesman got on the gas hard I heard that ugly sound I hadn't heard for almost 20years. The sound of the belt scraping its way up the sheeves. I thought, well maybe because the car was cold... (it was January in WI after all). Then it did it again after about a 20mile drive - same occurence: accelerating away from a stop light to highway speeds with me behind the wheel.

Hopefully, no one has encountered this while driving their own Cali's with CVTs... just know that everytime that you hear that sound you are dramatically reducing the life expectancy of the CVT - so Back Off!

I've never heard any noises come out of my transmission on either Calibers that I've owned. I haven't heard of any significant issues with the CVT transmission either. If Chrysler didn't think it was a good transmission, they wouldn't have used it. Nissan uses these all the time along with other manufacturers. If they weren't good transmissions, they wouldn't risk using them either.

But don't get me wrong...I'd rather have a 5-spd manual in my car too, but for different reasons. I just like to shift. The Autostick is nice, but its not the same. My next vehicle absolutely will have a manual transmission. You just get raped on your trade value when you go to trade it in if it has a manual transmission.

I know Caliber only been around for 2 years
and probably nobody has 40K miles or more on theirs yet
but was wondering how the lifetime drivetrain warranty will play out when you've got 100K on the clock and using a qt of oil every few hundred miles

Just a pre-thought as mines only has 1200 miles so far

Probably worrying too far in advance

Ive had my car for almost two years and Im already at 39000 miles. Havent had many problems with her yet. All I have done to my car over time is as follows. Replace front right tire at 32k due to a nail, at 5000 miles my car had to go into the shop because a sensor went wrong and they had to replace some parts, going to need new brake pads now also. Thats all Ive had to due to my car it is actually pretty decent. Itll do 115mph lol for a small four banger and I get around 25mpg highway/city driving.